Arbroath 1 – 0 East Fife – Match Summary
The Lichties recorded their 9th win in 12 games this afternoon as they overcame East Fife thanks to a Michael McKenna goal in the 55th minute.
The win keeps the 7 point gap at the top of Ladbrokes League One and it was another great win under difficult weather conditions.
With Mark Whatley still missing due to a slight hamstring strain and Callum Smith missing due to breaking his wrist against Stranraer there was one change with Danny Denholm coming into the side to replace Smith with David Gold continuing in the heart of midfield.
East Fife attacked the Harbour End with the wind at their back but it was Arbroath who challenged first with Michael McKenna running through on goal only to be taken out by Ross Dunlop who was shown a yellow card inside 30 seconds but unfortunately Arbroath couldn’t do anything with the free kick .
Danny Denholm was up next for the Lichties in the 20th minute but his 20 yard strike was a comfortable save for Brett Long.
Colin Hamilton came close with a header but the best chance of the half fell to Michael McKenna but his shot was just over the bar in the 44th minute.
Half Time – Arbroath 0 – 0 East Fife
Possession – Arbroath 56% – 44% East Fife
Total Shots – Arbroath 7 – 2 East Fife
On Target – Arbroath 2 – 0 East Fife
Off Target – Arbroath 3 – 1 East Fife
Blocked – Arbroath 2 – 1 East Fife
Corners – Arbroath 1 – 3 East Fife
Fouls Committed – Arbroath 3 – 6 East Fife
Arbroath came out for the second half knowing they had the wind advantage although it wasn’t quite as powerful as the last two home games. The Arbroath players didn’t give up chasing for the ball and were rewarded in the 55th minute.
Bobby Linn picked up the ball and played a brilliant pass to Ryan Wallace who was rewarded by his persistence for a break of the ball and slotted the ball over to Michael McKenna who calmly slotted the ball under the keeper Brett Long for his 7th goal in all competitions this season.
David Gold and Ryan Wallace both had swooping moves into the East Fife box but were blocked just as they were about to pull the trigger.
Steven Doris and Omar Kader came on for Bobby Linn and Danny Denholm in the 69th minute and Steven Doris was taken out just seconds later as two East Fife players slid into him.
Gavin Swankie had another scintillating performance in midfield as he broke down play whilst also setting up attacks. Swankie was replaced by Ryan McCord in the 76th minute to a warm round of appreciation from the Arbroath fans.
Arbroath kept on creating runs into the box but just couldn’t find the final pass or shot. Ryan Wallace did brilliantly to turn two East Fife defenders in the box but his shot was just wide.
East Fife’s best spell of the game was in the final minutes and deep into injury time where a cross from Scott McBride bounced off the Arbroath cross bar.
The final whistle finally blew and it was another good win for the Lichties.
The Arbroath defence kept another clean sheet with Darren Jamieson not really called into action too often. The midfield and forward line chased every ball and Michael McKenna was definitely candidate for man of the match.
Full Time – Arbroath 1 – 0 East Fife
Possession – Arbroath 51% – 49% East Fife
Total Shots – Arbroath 15 – 5 East Fife
On Target – Arbroath 4 – 1 East Fife
Off Target – Arbroath 5 – 1 East Fife
Blocked – Arbroath 6 – 3 East Fife
Corners – Arbroath 3 – 5 East Fife
Fouls Committed – Arbroath 10 – 12 East Fife
C’mon the Lichties!
Arbroath
1 – Darren Jamieson
2 – Jason Thomson
3 – Colin Hamilton
4 – Ricky Little (c)
5 – Thomas O’Brien
6 – David Gold
7 – Danny Denholm (Kader 69)
8 – Michael McKenna
9 – Ryan Wallace
10 – Gavin Swankie (McCord 76)
11 – Bobby Linn (Doris 69)
Substitutes
12 – Omar Kader – 7; 69th
15 – Ryan McCord – 10; 76th
16 – Steven Doris – 11; 69th
17 – Mark Whatley
18 – Finn Graham
21 – Darren Hill (GK)
Goal – McKenna 55
Yellow Cards – Gold 32, Wallace 34, McKenna 88
East Fife
1 – Brett Long
6 – Craig Watson
5 – Ross Dunlop
17 – Daryll Meggatt
8 – Pat Slattery
3 – Mark Docherty (Bell 83)
7 – Craig Thomson (Dowds 61)
11 – Scott Agnew
14 – Liam Watt
10 – Kevin Smith (c) (McBride 76)
9 – Jonny Court
Substitutes
2 – Aaron Dunsmore
4 – Chris Kane
12 – Scott McBride – 10; 76th
15 – Anton Dowds – 7; 61st
18 – Scott Linton
20 – Kyle Bell – 3; 83rd
21 – Craig McDowall (GK)
Yellow Cards – Dunlop 1, Meggatt 26, Smith 72
Attendance – 765
Referee – Lloyd Wilson
Assistant Referee 1 – Gordon Crawford
Assistant Referee 2 – Ryan Lee
